Awwww. Nobody wuvs the pwezident

Remember President Stupid telling the press "strong asset" he'd be to 2008 GOP candidates?

Guess again.

Republican presidential candidates can't be any more clear: President Bush isn't welcome on the campaign trail.

Maybe they'll take Laura or Barney the dog instead?

Competing to succeed him, top GOP candidates Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and John McCain barely utter Bush's name. They essentially ignore the lame-duck president, or give him only passing credit, as they rail against the status quo and promise to fix problems he hasn't solved.

``We all know Americans want change,'' said McCain, an Arizona senator, explaining the aversion to aligning with Bush. ``I give him credit for a number of things but I think the fact is Americans are turning the page, including our Republican primary voters.''

WTF? Since 2004, McCain's head has been so far up President Stupid's ass that he could wear the man's intestines for a hat. When Senator "Straight talk--whuzzat?" McCain is trying to distance himself, you know that the president has become the political equivalent of radioactive waste.

How candidates handle the 800-pound elephant in the room now could have implications beyond the primary. Privately, Republican strategists agree their nominee will lose next fall if the general election is a referendum on Bush. They say GOP candidates are wise to distance themselves from the president now, given his unpopularity among the public at large....

To be sure, none of the candidates want to be attached to Bush's legacy, afraid that doing so will make them sitting ducks for Democrats.

You can see it now, can't you?

"Rudy Season!"

"Mitt Season!"

"Rudy Season!"

"Mitt Season!"

Despite such deep frustration, Republicans on the whole still like Bush - and don't like those who beat up on him.

They're talking about the 30 percenters, right?

You know, this election could serve as inspiration for an SF film-cum-political thriller. Here's the plot: a mad scientist, bankrolled by a Richard Mellon Scaife-type drunk wingnut zillionaire, exhumes and reanimates the corpse of a right-wing president as part of a plot to hold onto the Oval Office. It's up to a daring trio of ultra-liberal avengers--a woman, a black guy, and a Southern dude--to stop this evil scheme. Call it The Mod Squad vs. the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. Or, if anyone has a better title, suggestions are more than welcome.